Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 79: Chapter 79

Thunderous applause erupted.
Elara froze in her seat. 'What's Adrian thinking? I get up and speak? I don't even have a script!'
The applause got louder, and the live camera zoomed right in on her face.
Elara forced a smile, stood up, and walked on stage. She took the mic from Adrian and whispered in his ear helplessly, "What am I supposed to say here?"
"Didn't I ask you to write that book report yesterday? You did great. Just think back to that and share it with everyone," Adrian replied.
Elara fell silent.
Adrian sat back down. Elara clutched the mic, trying to remember the book report, but her mind went totally blank.
She had to wing it. "Hey everyone, I'm Elara Langton. Honestly, back in high school, I was a troubled teen myself."
The moment these words left her mouth, the audience erupted in murmurs, while the livestream chat exploded with comments.
[What? They let a former troubled teen give a solo talk at Mr. Hartley's legal seminar? Can she even talk about law?]
[She's super cute. Is she a psychology expert? The youngest in the country?]
[She looks so young. Can we really trust her?]
[Probably just a pretty face, trying to leach off Mr. Hartley's fame.]
[Wait, isn't that Elara, the famous travel vlogger?]
[She does look kinda like Elara. But I haven't seen her post anything in ages. I thought she'd quit social media.]
The live chat went nuts, and Elara shot to the top of the trending list.
Top 1: [Travel Vlog OG Elara Is the Youngest Psychology Expert]
Top 2: [Elara Was a Troubled Teen]
Top 3: [Elara Talks Legal Smarts]
Below them were tons of smaller hashtags: [Elara And Adrian], [Adrian Legal Talk: Elara Is Here], and [Adrian's Plus One Elara].
Suddenly, hundreds of thousands of viewers crashed the stream. The barrage of comments flooded the screen so rapidly they became an indistinguishable blur.
Elara continued on stage, "To be precise, I had two neighbors my age, and the three of us were all troubled teens back then.
"Funny enough, we all had one thing in common: we barely saw our parents. My folks split up early. In high school, I lived in our old house. More often than not, I'd come home from school to an empty house.
"On my birthdays, my parents would get together, but they'd start arguing even before the cake was sliced. So every year, my birthday sucked. It wasn't until after I graduated high school that I found out they'd already been divorced for years.
"Back in high school, I acted out to get their attention—even started my own gang. Everyone called me 'queen bee' back then.
"Later, the queen bee from the neighboring school came at me and challenged me to a showdown. We agreed to meet at the back hill behind the school. But she was way crazier than I was—she pulled a knife on me.
"At that time, I didn't understand what self-defense meant. I just wanted to live, so I broke her leg with a rock to get away. As I was leaving, she taunted me, 'You've got parents, but neither one of them loves you!'
"Those words just set something off in me. Luckily, my older neighbor showed up just in time. He held me back from doing something I'd regret and called the cops immediately.
"Looking back, if he hadn't been there, my life could have spiraled out of control. I consider myself lucky, but not everyone a neighbor like him—someone who stops them from making a terrible mistake and supports them through their most rebellious years."
When Elara finished, memories from her journal entries the day before popped into her head.
She went on, "Adolescence is the age when self-awareness truly begins to form. Teenagers may have developed some social awareness, but they still lack real-life experience. At this stage, their core beliefs and worldview are shaped almost entirely by their parents.
"If, during that critical period, parents fail to provide their children with enough care and companionship, those kids can become vulnerable to negative influences. They might turn rebellious, obstinate, or arrogant. In more serious cases, they could even develop self-harming tendencies or show antisocial behavior."
Adrian couldn't take his eyes off Elara on stage. It was the first time he'd ever heard her share her story.
"I hope everyone can show more care for the teenagers around you. May every lost young soul find their 'senior next door' to guide them. That concludes my speech. Thank you all," Elara smiled.
If Adrian's speech was fiery and inspiring, then Elara's was deeply moving and thought-provoking. The audience erupted in thunderous applause, and the live stream blew up.
Elara's fans flooded into the livestream en masse. Within just fifteen minutes, viewership skyrocketed past one million. As a result, Adrian's legal seminar became a major talking point, dominating the trending lists nonstop.
Adrian glanced at the latest trending topics.
Top 1: [Elara Is The Youngest Psychologist]
Top 2: [Elara And Her Older Neighbor]
Top 3: [Elara: Show More Love to Teens]
Top 4: [Elara On Teen Mental Health Advice]
Top 5: [Join Elara In Caring For Teens]
Below were more trending topics like: [Elara And Adrian], [Elara At Adrian Legal Talk], [Adrian Legal Talk], and [Anchor Law Firm Legal Talk].
Adrian's eyes landed on the number two trending topic, and he frowned. His slender fingers tapped out a message: [Get this trending topic removed.]
With Elara's speech concluded, the seminar session officially wrapped up. As the event commenced, the hall buzzed with guests mingling and moving about.
Adrian gently placed an arm around Elara's slender waist as they greeted the approaching guests.
A CEO said, "Adrian, this seminar was a great success, and it's generating immense online buzz. Our company will donate 1.5 million dollars to your Youth Foundation."
Adrian flashed a warm smile. "Well then, on behalf of those kids, thank you."
After the CEO left, Elara, who was unaware that she was already dominating the trending topics on social media, asked curiously, "The foundation?"
Adrian chose not to tell her just yet. "Mmm, the main purpose of today's event is fundraising."
Elara was stunned. "So, all that emotional speech was just capitalist tactics in disguise?"
Adrian chuckled, "Where did you pick up all these big words?"
Elara shot him a look. "Don't get hung up on my words. Just tell me, was I spot-on or not?"
Adrian got her a glass of champagne. "What do you think that 'emotional speech' was for?"
Elara thought for a moment. "To get parents to care more about their kids' mental health and education."
"Then do you know what's the root cause for most troubled teens in our country lacking proper education and attention?" asked Adrian.
Elara shook her head.
"Left-behind children."
This was news to Elara.
Adrian continued, "Why are there left-behind children? Their families are poor. Parents have to leave to find work, so the kids stay in those small towns, fending for themselves.
"If the foundation can provide financial aid to these struggling families, wouldn't that be much more practical than your emotional speech? Besides, this fundraising doesn't mess with your story at all."
Adrian had expected Elara to argue. But she just exclaimed, "Adrian, you're actually amazing."
Having studied finance, Elara knew these tactics were bread and butter in the financial world. But when Adrian used them for charity fundraising, that elevated them to something truly noble.
Elara, eager to help, continued, "You need something to make it blow up online. That'll get the fundraiser noticed and make it bigger—more people talking means more impact."
Adrian took a sip of champagne. "You mean online hype?"
Elara nodded eagerly.
"It's blowing up online now. It's got some serious star power."
Elara frowned, "Who?"
Adrian grinned, "You."
After a client dinner and a few drinks, Alex hurried to Anchor Law Firm to meet Eric. He still needed to go over some details of the settlement agreement between his father and the Heaton family.
Upon arriving, as Alex passed through the reception lounge, the wall-mounted TV was livestreaming a legal seminar from Marisiton.
The camera lingered on Elara, who wore an elegant, sky-blue gown he'd never seen before. On stage, her presence was calm and commanding; every word she spoke carried weight and conviction.
The girl he once knew had transformed into a radiant woman—so remarkable that her beauty was now the least interesting thing about her.
During the livestream, she talked about how Alex had saved her from going down the wrong path when she was younger, how fortunate she'd been, and how she wished every kid could have someone like him in their life.
Alex stood frozen before the TV for a moment, his thumb unconsciously rotating the plain wedding band on his ring finger. Then, expressionless, he walked into Anchor Law Firm.